2/2/2023 basketball Edit

Indiana Pulls Off Rare Big Ten Double Double

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Jim Coyle • TheHoosier

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Indiana University '91 BA Speech Communication, former television sports anchor at WLKY-CBS, WJFW-NBC, KNDU-NBC, current host on Indiana Sports Beat Radio and "After The Game" with Todd Leary

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It is no secret that both Indiana's men's and women's basketball programs are having a great run right now and it's been a fun thing to watch. The fan support for the women's program has been some of the best in the country. It's been crazy with them hitting over 10,000 people in attendance twice already. The Hoosier women's appearance in the 2023 NCAA Tournament will mark their 5th appearance in eight years and fourth straight, (save the 2020 Covid absence).

As a matter of fact, the women's last four tourney losses have come to a one, a pair of two's, and a three seed. Currently, the Indiana women's basketball team is ranked No. 4 in the country and listed on the top line of the NCAA's March Madness tournament seed list. That is a No. 1 seed my friends, for a team that lost 3 starters a year ago!

With the tradition of Indiana men's basketball excellence, going back to their first NCAA National Championship in 1940 and non-stop male and female talent produced in this state, it is beyond baffling to me that Indiana has gone this long without both programs being successful at the same time.

While this is not what this story is about, there are some easy answers to that. Women's basketball was surely looked at as a money drain, not a money maker. So, like football, IU didn't care enough about women's basketball to put the resources behind it to make it better. On the men's side basketball always took care of itself, competing for and winning national and Big Ten titles.

Until it didn't, beginning in 2000. Then, bad hire after bad hire and bad contracts left the men's program drifting in and out of consciousness at times. Oh, but I digress.

Indiana's best women's team in program history? They will get the chance to become that in March.

Today both programs are easily NCAA tournament bound for 2023. Both teams are ranked in the Top 25 as of this week with the women reaching a program record high at No. 4. The men are No. 21 after a recent five game Big Ten winning streak. But this week the two programs accomplished an Indiana University first that has only happened a few times in the Big Ten, and had not happened since the 2015 basketball season.

Indiana had the men's and women's Players of the Week as well as Freshman of the Week!

Trayce Jackson-Davis poured in 25 points, grabbed 21 rebounds, and had six blocked shots at Minnesota on Jan. 25. The game marked the first 20-20 game from a Hoosier since D.J. White on Jan. 8, 2008. He also became the first high-major player to post a 25-20-5 game since UConn’s Hasheem Thabeet on Feb. 14, 2009. In the Hoosiers' following game vs Ohio State, the senior posted an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Hoosiers in the victory. Indiana's all-time blocks leader was also selected to the Top 20 list for the John R. Wooden Award.

Indiana freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino added six points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals for Indiana's win over Minnesota at The Barn. But it was the Hoosiers next game against the Buckeyes where he was just unstoppable. The Montverde product posted a career-best six made 3-pointers, with 5 coming in the first half, and scored a game-high 24 points. He added three assists and two steals in 32 minutes of court time.

Trayce Jackson-Davis is now Indiana's all-time leader in blocks is also averaging 20 pts. & 11 rebounds per game.

For the women, it was Mackenzie Holmes, who was not only chosen as co-Big Ten Player of the week for 3rd time this season, but she was also chosen as the EspnW National Player of the Week on Monday and the made Top 20 list for the John R. Wooded Award as well. Holmes Averaged 24.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game with a 70% field-goal percentage in the Hoosiers’ three wins last week, two against Top 25 opponents. She also posted her ninth double-double of the season on Jan. 23 at No. 13/16 Michigan, finishing with 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Not only did Teri Moren's centerpiece score a team-high 26 points on 11-of-13 shooting on Jan. 26 against No. 2/5 Ohio State, but it was also her third straight 25-point game against a ranked opponent, becoming only the second women’s or men’s player in the past 20 years to accomplish that feat in the regular season after UConn’s Maya Moore in 2010-11.

Mackenzie Holmes has been Big Ten Player of the Week 6 times this season.

Indiana freshman guard Yarden Garzon brings another first to this list. Garzon has won the award in 2 of the last 3 weeks and is making her case for Freshman of the Year in the Big Ten. She averaged 14.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game with a .567 field-goal percentage (10-18 3FG) last week. In this stretch, the very athletic 6'4" guard posted her first career double-double on Jan. 26 against No. 2/5 Ohio State with 20 points and 10 rebounds. She also added 14 points (5-8 FG, 4-6 3FG) in Sunday’s victory over Rutgers.

The last school to accomplish this was Ohio State in January 2015, but they did it with only two players. Kelsey Mitchell won both honors on the women's side and D'Angelo Russell won both for the men. Russell is also a Montverde Academy product as is Indiana's Jalen Hood-Schifino. Five months after winning that award, Russell was the #2 pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2015 NBA Draft and today plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves.